Bethesda Softworks, creators of The Elder Scrolls series and Fallout 3, are going after that most illusive of demographics, the mature Wii gamer. Despite high-profile titles such as MadWorld and The House of the Dead: Overkill performing relatively modestly, Bethesda are ready to jump in with the announcement of a “really big” Wii game this year.

Speaking to gi.biz, Bethesda Europe’s Sean Brennan discussed the difficulties of creating games for the 18+ crowd. “Is there space in the Wii market for that? I think there is, but again, it’ all about finding out how big that is,” said Brennan. “Is it 5 percent? If it’s five per cent of the market and you can own that space it’s worth doing because you can achieve volume.” That figure may seem conservative, but when you consider the Wii’s lifetime sales, 5 percent of the total market is still around 2.7m copies. That’s no mean feat.

Despite this, Bethesda are not deterred. “We are going to make an announcement on a really big Wii game this year, we’ve got a couple of other things in the pipeline, and it’s a format we’re really looking at with the right approach,” said Brennan. “Looking at the opportunities in the Nintendo space is interesting for us because it’s more driven by getting the right product for the demographic and also the right quality. We’re not going to do a hamster simulator, it’s not us. We’re not going to produce games for girls or pet-sim products. There’s nothing to distinguish them from one another.”